Bone bank and method of preserving bones for transplantation



Patented Oct. 2 5, 1 949 BONE BANK AND METHOD OEPRESERVING BONE Sv .FQR TRANSPLANTATION.

Eli Jordan Tiicke'r','Jr., Houston, Te'ii.

No Drawing Application; J unell), 1948;

Serial N0. 32,253

4 Claims. (01:12pm

This invention relates to..a method of. obtaining bones from living bodies or from recently expired bodies, and preserving such bones under conditions to maintain them viable for transplantation at later times into other living. bodies.

It is an object of this .inventionto provide a bone supply or bone bank consisting of viable and transplantable .bones which are. classified as to blood'types.

It is'another objectof this invention to provide a bone bank of viable. and transplantable bones so selected as. to preclude the inclusion of any bones which might communicate. syphilis and other communicablediseases in transplantation.

It is also an. object of this invention. to provide a bone bank'of this class consisting of viable bones classified into Rh-positive. and Rh-negative groups, thereby providing against attempts to graft bones from bodies of one typeof Rh factor onto. bones in bodiesof an. opposite factor.

It is also an object of. this invention to .pro-. vide a bone bank of. transplantablebones. which are kept viable throughnutrition derivedfrom a culture of blood serum or plasma in whichthe bones are maintained.

It is yet another object. of this inventionto provide a bone bank of this class in. whichlthe bones are kept in cultures containinga sufficient volume of sulfa-thiazole or other antisbioticrsubstance to inhibit the growth of bacteria or other organisms therein.

It is also an object of this/invention to provide a bone bank of this class. in which the bones and culture are maintained .in. a substantially refrigerated state at such temperatures below normal body temperature as to effectively.;re-.

duce the rate of absorption by thebones of .nutri-. ment from the culture thereby materially length-.- ening the period during which a culture may. nourish without replenishment the bones .kept.

therein.

It is also an object of .this'inventionto provide a bone bank of this class. in which the culture. may be changed or replenished from timeto. timeto indefinitely prolong the preservation of bones therein.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent upon: considering the specifica.-.

tion herein set forth.

The medical .profession has long considiered that autogenous bones are best adapted 'for grafting primarily because the blood. ce1l's-.of.

such'bones are of the same bloodtype as the.

bones forming the bed of the graft.

2 c insures against adverse reactions. within the red blood cells of thebone portion tobe grafted. or witli'ii the bone portion. of the body forming the b' .7

Human bloodhas been separated by medical analysis'into" four types, 0, A, B, and AB, the basisof classification being whether or not successful transfusion can be carried out between these roups. It'has" been foundthat, for. purposes pr transfusion, blood of type. 6 can .be transfused into bodies or. t pes A, B, and whereas blood. of type ABbannot. be transfused intcr any other type. Also, whereas blood of types A and Bcan'notbe inter-transfused nor transfused into a type 0 bddy, both types can be transfused into type AB bodies. Such relations" apply' to the grafting of bones as well as tor transfusions, and rris'neces'sary to know what type of bone is to be grafted into: what type of pew-wherever homologous bones are not avail! able?" Ithas also beendetermined' by the profession that humanbei'rrgs'have" in the blood certain other factors which oppose the transfusion and intermingling between bloods of opposite types and' for-pur p'oses of classification s'uch"fact'ors are-termed"Rlirpositive and Rh-negative factors. The incompatibilitybf these factors is most apparent'inoperations' where it is endeavored to graft bones from bodies-having blood or brie Rh factor onto" bones in bodieshaving blood of the opposite Rh factors. In such cases unfavorable reaotions re'sult which oppose. the knitting: together -01 the" bones" to be 'inter grafte'd.

The bonesupply-contemplated by this invena larger bone portionsamputatedfrom living pe'r-* son'sg'as Whl'la wholeueg may hav'e'to' be 'am' putated' as the result of a wreck or accident, in

I which-c'ase-the-victim may contribute the usable and unfractured portions-to the bone-bank. In

every" case the' most careful ste'riletechnique must-be-employed. in r'en'io'vi'n g the bones-donatedfrom-any source of bone: supply? The source of autopsy should be the-best source;

and could: be'developed by educating public concepts thereofi :in view of the? humanitarianzresults' to. be obtained When-autopsies .are granted; practically. all of. the bones? of. the expired-personmatn be. obtained-for the-bone bank, andthe-iact' Th'is'55 that the donors may have expired of certain diseases rather than by accident does not ordinarily lessen the value of the bones contributed. It is only necessary that the bones be healthy and that they be obtained promptly after respiration ceases, while the bones are still viable and before necrosis sets in.

However, in both the cases of donated amputated bones, and bones obtained by autopsy, it is necessary to test the bodies of the donors to eliminate obtaining donations from bodies having certain communicable diseases, particularly syphilis which is carried in the blood stream. This is necessary since the conditions under which the. bones are maintained in the bank, to be hereinafter described, could not with certainty exterminate the germs of these certain diseases, as

the spirochete of syphilis without possibly also.

affecting the viability of the bones.

The viable and healthy bones obtained and classified by the above described methods are placed in vitro in prepared cultures of blood plasma of blood serum to which has been added a sufficient volume of anti-biotic substance, as sulfa-thiazole, to inhibit the growth of bacteria and other organisms therein.

Plasma is essentially the liquid portion of the blood which has been separated without clotting, and contains in solution albumin, globulin, and fibrinogen. Serum, on the other hand, is the liquid constituent of the blood remaining after coagulation, and as such has had separated therefrom those components of the blood which combine in the substance of blood clots. Both plasma and serum may be optionally selected as the culture media for sustaining in vitro bone cells of any blood type, since both these substances contain therein the nutritive constituents of the blood for maintaining the bones viable. The fact that neither plasma nor serum contain therein blood cell matter which differentiates blood as to types makes it possible to use either plasma or serum without consideration as to the types of blood from which these derivatives have been obtained.

The bones and the blood culture may not necessarily be kept in vitro but substances other than glass may be employed for the containers; however, glass is especially suitable because of its durability, transparency, opposition to absorption, and because of the ease with which it can be sterilized when the contents thereof may be removed.

, The maintaining of the culture and bones at refrigerated temperatures serves to materally reduce the rate at which the bones derive nutriment from the culture, and thus the period during which a culture may nourish bones therein is materially extended.

Mean temperatures of 46 degrees Fahrenheit are indicated as suitable for maintaining the bones at a reduced rate of absorption of nutriment and in a substantially refrigerated state, and a temperature range of degrees may be set on the refrigerative means in which the bank is kept. However, these temperatures are not critical except as they are near a lower limit at which the processes in bones and culture may be materially and adversely affected by further reduced temperatures.

Microscopic tests, taken of the bones in the bank at necessary intervals will reveal if they have begun to atrophy or will show whether or not necrosis may haveset in. Upon the slightest indication of either of these symptoms the culture may be replenished with fresh ingredients of proper amounts of sulfa-thiazole, and of either plasma or serum. It also may be preferable to completely replace a culture partially depleted of nutriment by an entirely new culture and such may be done promptly without adversely affecting the existing viability of the bones in the bank.

The transplantable character of bones maintained by this invention appears to be due in part to the fact that the plasma or serum medium in which the bones are kept partially absorbs the calcium and phosphorus from the bones, and thereby accomplishes in advance part of a step preceding the amalgamation of the bone to be grafted with the bone of the body. Thus it can be seen that bones maintained by the steps of this invention are even more adaptable for transplanting than bones which are obtained from a donor or other source and immediately thereafter employed for transplantation.

This invention is not limited in its scope to the elimination from the bank of only bones which could transmit syphilis or other communicable diseases, but it is further limited to the elimination of bones of any type and having any factors or characteristics which could adversely affect the bodies on which such bones might be grafted.

The classification of bones by two Rh factors and four blood types also does not limit the multiples of sub-classes into which the bones of the bank may be subdivided, but this invention broadly considers further beneficial bases of classification and sub-classification which may be developed by medical research.

Broadly, this invention considers the provision of a bank of viable and pre-selected bones by obtaining such bones in a viable state and maintaining them in a culture to sustain their viability over indefinitely extended periods.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of providing a viable bone of a desired Rh factor and blood type comprising the steps of, testing donors to eliminate the use of bones from those donors having diseases communicable by bone grafting, testing donors not thus eliminated to identify a donor of desired Rh factor and blood type, removing the desired bone from such donor, placing the bone in a container having therein a blood plasma culture containing sulfa-thiazole as an anti-biotic agent, maintaining the container contents at temperatures below normal body temperatures, testing the bone atv intervals to observe for indications of atrophy and necrosis, replenishing the culture when indicated, thereby indefinitely maintaining the bone viable for transplantation.

2. A method of providing a viable bone of a desired Rh factor and blood type comprising the steps of, testing donors to eliminate the use of bones from those donors having syphilis communicable by bone grafting, testing the remaining donors not thus eliminated to identify a donor of desired Rh factor and blood type, removing the desired bone from such donor, placing the bone in a container having therein a blood plasma culture containing sulfa-thiazole as an anti-biotic agent, maintaining the container contents at temperatures substantially below normal body temperatures, testing the bone at intervals to observe for decreasing viability, replenishing the culture when indicated, thereby indefinitely maintaining the bone viable for transplantation.

3. A method of providing a viable bone of a desired Rh factor and blood type comprising the steps of, testing donors to eliminate the use of bones from those donors having diseases communicable by bone grafting, testing the donors not thus eliminated to identify a donor of desired Rh factor and blood type, removing the desired bone from such donor, placing the bone into a container having therein a blood serum culture containing sulfa-thiazole as an anti-biotic agent, maintaining the container contents thereof at temperatures below normal body temperatures, testing the bone at intervals to observe for indications of atrophy and necrosis, and replenishing the culture when indicated, thereby indefinitely maintaining the bone viable for transplantation.

4. A method of maintaining a bone or segment thereof in viable state for transplantation, which comprises testing donors to eliminate the use of bones from those having diseases communicable REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

American Druggist for January 1948, pp. '72- 73, 112, 114, 116 and 118. 

